Liquidizer safety clutch

ABSTRACT

Safety release clutch for two part liquidizer container in which the cutter clutch member that is journalled in the lower part is resiliently retracted from engagement with the motor clutch member when the upper part is separated from the lower part for cleansing either one or both parts. In its retracted position the cutters may be locked against relative rotation or permitted to rotate free of the drive clutch member, but in either event there is no projection of elements below the lower part whether the two parts are assembled or not.

United States Patent [1 1 1111 3,785,579 Voglesonger [45] J 15-, 1974[54] LIQUIDIZER SAFETY CLUTCH 3,612,126 10/1971 Emmons et a]. 24l/l99.l2[75] Inventor: Harry voglesonger Rivenon 3,627,008 12/1971 Samuehan259/108 x Conn. Primary Examiner-Granvil1e Y. Custer, Jr. Asslgneei y aCorporation of America, Assistant ExaminerHoward N. Goldberg New York,NY. AztornyWatson D. Harbaugh et al. [22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1972 211 Appl.NIL; 238,385 [571 ABSTRACT Safety release clutch for two part liquidizercontainer 521 0.8. CI. 241/282.1 259/108 which the chhch member thatisjwmaued 51 1m. 01. B02c 18/12 the Part is resiliently retracted fmmengagement [58] Field of Search 192/89 R 89 A 129 A 'With the Chltchmember when the PPer Part is 192/130. 259/108 DIG. 2 2821 separated fromthe lower part for cleansing either one 282,2 19912 4617 v or both partsIn its retracted position the cutters may be locked against relativerotation or permitted to re- [56] References Cited' tate free of thedrive clutch member, but in either event there is no projection ofelements below the UNITED STATES PATENTS lower part whether the twoparts are assembled or not. 2,755,900 7/1956 Seyfried 259/108 X2,930,596 3/1960 Waters 259/108 X 17 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENTEJAN 1 51974 SHEUIBFZ 'LIQUIDIZER SAFETY CLUTCH BACKGROUND OF INVENTIONReferring to the co-owned- Emmons US Pat. No. 3,612,126, containers forhome use liquidizers are generally provided with high speed cutterscarried by a ver tical shaft that is journalled in its bottom wall anddriven by a clutch member on its lower end. A jar portion surroundingthe cutters has side walls tall enough therabove to discourage a userfrom manually reaching in far enough to contact the cutters duringoperation.

There are two types of containers. One is a molded unitary jar with adownwardly opening cavity on the bottom concealing the driven clutchmember that is disengaged by removal of the jar; and the other is atwo-piece container having a threaded connection between a jar andbottom member at approximately the level of the cutters. The cutters arejournalled in the base member.

Several advantages are attained by the use of a two part liquidizingcontainer. The base and jar portions can be more easily andbetter'cleaned when separated; freedom of design for specializedoperation is afforded; and, when desired, different upper portions canbe used interchangeably with the base portion, including jars that arenarrow or closed at the top. On the other hand, dangers are created forthe user with a base portion having exposed cutters when the jar isremoved. Not only does the remote possibility still exist that the usermight reach into the container and contact the cutters, but with the jarportion removed, the base portion alone, with the cutters openlyexposed, can be left on or be returned to the power unit and the cutterclutch element becomes engaged with the motor driven clutch member. Theuser may unthread the jar portion while retaining the container on thepower unit so that the power unit can be used as a wrench on the baseportion in manually unthreading them; or, after unthreading the twoparts the base portion may be put back in drive position on the powerunit to avoid misplacement for either temporary or prolongedstorage-without the user disconnecting the plug-in power cord from thehouse current; or, the base portion can be set on the power unit in arandom position in contact with the clutch drive member.

In any event the power switch can be closed thoughtlessly, accidentallyor prankishly, and the series wound motor which has high initial torqueand high-speed characteristics with a fast start can either fling thebase portion as an animated missile,'or almost instantly whirl thecutters at such a speed that they are not likely to be seen by a personreacting quickly to turn off the motor. Also intentional use ofexposed'cutters for any purpose is to be discouraged. I

Heretofore the base assembly as a unit alone, without the weight of thejar, has been raised out of its clutch engaging position on a power unitto disengage the clutch members when the jar alone is removed. However,in doing this, a lifter element in the assembly is resiliently projecteddownwardly below to base assembly and engages only the power unit butalso any table top on which it is set with and without the jar mountedin place. The danger of marring a table top or unwittingly tipping thecontainer can be greatly reduced by making the projectable member of aplastic, or redesigning to locate the clutch engagement level higher inthe base of the container. Space in this area is at a premium cost-wiseeven though safety is to be served.

Other endeavors to protect users against injury from the cutters if thepower unit is inadvertently energized with or without the jar removedfrom the base member in drive position include devices in which weightactuated safety cut-off switches have been employed, or the clutchelements are left in engagement and rotation is prevented under adangerous or damaging locked motor condition, which with a flexibleclutch connection, can flip the base portion and-provide a dangerousmissile.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION In the present invention the relative movableclutch elements are disposed in a cavity in the bottom of a bottomassembly member where engagement and disengagement takes place withintheheight of the bottom assembly. The bottom assembly includes athreaded ring member which defines the cavity, a closure member disposedwithin the ring member to journal a shaft carrying the cutters at itstop, and the driven member threaded on the lower end confines theexcursion of the closure member and clutch member to approximately theheight of the cavity. A coiled spring interengages the ring and closuremembers for purposes of declutching and retracts the driven clutchmember remotely to the top of the cavity. The spring is overcome whenthe jar portion is threaded back into position on the ring member intosealed relationship with the closure member, and this returns the drivenclutch member to its clutch engaging position.

Preferably locking elements are carried by the closure member at the topof the cavity to lock with the driven clutch member and prevent itsrotation when it is declutched. Also,.a normally open safety switch ispreferably connected in series with the main power switch with itscontrol button disposed to be depressed by the closure means in itslower position when the container is in sealed relationship therewith.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liquidizerembodying the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the jar and bottomportion of the two piece container assembled and mounted in workingposition on a power unit with the clutch members in driving engagement;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the relationship and relativepositions of the base portion and power unit with the two portionsseparated, the clutch members disengaged, and the-bottom portion left onthe motor unit; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view, taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3,showing the anti-loosening sealing engagement of the jar and closuremeans;

FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit associated with the embodiment of FIG. 3.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 in further detail, aliquidizer is illustrated having a multi-part container 10 supported ona power unit 12 that is controlled by a manual switch 14 (FIG. 3). Asshown in FIG. 2 the container 10 includes a bottom assembly 16 removablythreaded to the upper jar portion 18 as at 17 and may be closed at thetop by a suitable removable cap 15.

The power unit 12 includes a housing 20 provided with a series woundmotor 22 (FIG. supported therein concentrically with a top wall 24 thathas a collar means 26 thereon. The wall 28 of the collar (FIGS. 2 and 3)defines a recess 30 having four angularly spaced resilient L-shapedinserts 32 which serve as lugs 33 that receive the bottom assembly 16 inweight bearing and non-rotative relationship.

The upper end of the vertical shaft 34 of the motor 22 is journalled ina bearing 36 located in the center of the recess 30 on the wall 24 andcarries a clutch drive element 25. The upper ends of the lugs 33 arebeveled as at 40 to guide the bottom assembly 16 when lowered intoplace. I

The bottom assembly 16 is made up ofa ring member 42, a closure member44 and a compression spring 46. The ring member 42 has an outer wall 48whose outer surface 50 is provided with eight vertical flutes 52 toreceive the four lugs 33 vertically in any one of eight predeterminednon-rotative positions that are upwardly and readily releasable in thatboth elements taper slightly in a downward direction. The wall 48inwardly defines a coarse female thread 54 and preferably tightens inthe direction of cutter rotation. The lower wall 58 of the ring member42 is a spider 60 having eight openings 61 that are oriented withrespect to the flutes 52 to receive the push button 62 ofa switch 64extending through them in each of the eight positions, as laterdescribed. The hub 66 of the spider 60 defines a cavity 68 having adepth as much as twice the height of the clutch teeth 70 on the clutchdrive element 25. The upper wall 72 of the cavity 68 hasan opening 74therethrough to receive the cutter shaft 76 and preferably is providedwith depending lock lugs 78 engaged by the driven clutch member 80 whenin its uppermost position in the cavity (FIG. 3). The wall 82 of thecavity serves as a guide for the spring 46.

The closure member 44 comprises a main circular member 84 provided witha cavity 86 centrally in it receiving the elements defining cavity 68and of the same depth but with space between their telescoping walls 88and 82 to accommodate the spring 46. At the center of the upper wall 92of the cavity 86 a boss 94 is provided having a vertical opening 96therethrough in which a sintered metal sleeve bearing 98 is press fittedto journal the driven cutter shaft 76 which carries the cutter 100 atthe upper end in a conventional manner against a shoulder 102 with arunning seal washer 104 between the bearing 98 and cutters 100. Thelower end of the shaft 76 is shouldered as at 106 to cooperate with theupper shoulder 102 for axial support of the shaft and the cutters andthe driven clutch member 80 thereon. The adjacent ends of the motordrive and driven cutter shafts 34 and 76 are shouldered and threaded toreceive engaging clutch members 25 and 80, the driven clutch member 80having rigid radiating spokes 108 interdigitating with the circularlyarranged resilient teeth 70 of the drive clutch member 25. The spokesand teeth are offset whereby their drive faces are on true radii and aremovable into and out of engagement with each other within the depth ofthe cavity 68. Outwardly of the lower edge of the cavity wall 88 aradial flange 112 is provided which carries on its upper surface aneoprene washer 114 coextensive with the outer edge of the flange whichcoacts with the centering guide 56 to center the closure assembly withrespect to the lugs 32.

The jar I8 is preferably made of glass sothat it can withstand beingwashed in a dishwasher at a high temperature. The inner wall 118 of thejar tapers upwardly with the clover leaf flutes 120 preferably radiallyhigher at the bottom than at the top for thorough turbulent movement ofthe jar contents with respect to the cutters 100.

As shown in FIG. 4, whether or not the threads 17 lead in a directionagainst possible loosening of the jar 18 in the ring member 42 under thehydraulic influence of the swirling contents of the jar, it is to benoted that in lieu thereof or in combination therewith the ring member42 and closure member 44 may be lightly latched when tightened. They arepreferably made of molded plastic and engage in face-to-face contact.The sealing washer 114 is resiliently compressible to augment theseparation effort of the spring 46 upon the closure member 44 and ringmember 42, and, although a releasable spring detent and ratchetrelationship may be provided between the ring and closure members thatopposes a relative loosening movement between them, it has been foundthat several cam protrusions 115 on the bottom face 117 of the flange112 concentrically coacting with elements 121 on the ring member 42 thatmay be mating cam protrusions on the upper face 123 of the ring memberprovide a substantial holding force against hydraulic loosening.

The mating cams define circumferentially elongated, slidably contactingsurfaces inclined with the lead of the threads 17 in the direction oftightening and terminate in steeper inclines that oppose tighteningwhereby .once tightening is being accomplished there terminally feelingof quick release. The thickness and resiliency of the seal is related tothis result to provide the camming action described for the last coupleincrements of movement. The height of each cam is approximately 0.005inch, and, as noted, the incline of the faces 117 and 123 is that of thethreads 17.

In operation, assuming the parts described are in their assembledrelation as shown in FIG. 2 and a liquidizing operation has beencompleted and the parts touched by the ingredients are to be cleansed,reference is made to FIG. 3. The jar 18 is unthreaded for separatehandling, the spring 46 is thereby released and lifts the closure member44 to move the driven clutch member upwardly to disengage with the driveclutch member 25 and engage the locking elements 78 against rotation.The ring member 42 and the closure member 48 are thereby separated farenough for cleansing liquid to move freely in and around all parts andthrough spider openings 61 for a thorough cleaning with or without thesealing washer 114 being removed.

In event the jar 18 is stored separately and the bottom assembly 16 ofthe ring member 42 and closure member 44 are placed back upon the powerunit for storage the button 62 of the safety switch 64 is not actuatedby the closure member, the clutch members 25 and 80 are disengaged andthe cutters are locked against rotation for the sake of safety if andwhen the lower portion of the container is stored on the power unitwithout the jar attached. Moreover, the jar 18 can be loosely rested onthe ring member 42 and the end turns of the coarse threads will weightsupport the jar without actuating the safety switch 64. Moreover, withthe switch button 62 being located towards the center of the top wall 24of the power unit it is not likely that it will be contacted by the ringmember 32 if resting askew, and if such happened the clutch memberswould be in declutched relation by their relative remoteness.

Accordingly, if the main switch 14 happened to be closed under any ofthese circumstances several safety factors are protective againstpersonal injury. The drive clutch 25 being above the upper wall 24 ofthe power unit 12 would serve with the cavity 86 as a guide to locatethe ring member 42 in its working position with the cutters 100remaining locked, and, the closure member 44 is out of contact with thesafety switch button either because of the spring 46 or the button 62would only be received in a spider opening 61 with the closure member 44remote from it, or the ring member 42 cannot touch the button because ofnon-alignment of the lugs 32 with the grooves 52 which establishesalignment. Thus, inadvertent injury to users is minimized when the twocontainer parts are separated for improved cleansing conditionsincluding both parts being cleanable in a dishwasher, if desired.

What is claimed is:

l. A liquidizing container having an opening at its basefor receiving arotatable liquefying cutter unit therethrough comprising,

an open bottom jar member having a rim,

.a ring member receiving the bottom end of the jar in axial supportedrelationship around said rim,

a closure member having a radial peripheral flange thereon defining amarginal shoulder facing the lower end of the jar,

a sealing gasket disposed between said shoulder and said ring memberaxially receiving the closure member and having a lower wallportionengaging said closure member to compress said sealing gasket betweensaid flange and saidrim,

resilient means between said closure member and ring member urging saidclosure member upwardly when said ring member and jar member areseparated for cleaning purposes, and

cutter means journalled in said closure means and including on its lowerend'a driven member supported for relative axial movement whenassembling and separating said closure and ring members.

2. The combination called for in claim 1 in which the ring member has arecess in the bottom thereof, and

said driven member reciprocates in the recess on the bottom of the basemember above the plane of its lower extremity and being held in workingposition by the jar assembled in place.

3. The combination called for in claim 2 in which said recess comprisesa cavity having a wall spaced a predetermined distance above the upperface of said driven member with said jar assembled on the base member,and

said closure member has a cavity with a wall defining a space betweenthe vertical walls receiving said resilient means in guided relation.

4. The liquidizing container called for in claim 1 in which said ringmember has a cavity accommodating 6V said driven member at its springretracted position of said axial movement, and

locking means disposed between said driven member and said cavity wallinterengaged by relative movement induced by said resilient means.

5. The liquidizing container called for in claim 1 in which saidringmember and closure member have surfaces in face-to-face contact forlocating said driven member in its operative position, and

said sealing gasket being resilient and being free to turn with thegasket and jar rim when tightening.

6. The liquidizing container called for in claim 5 in which the surfacesin said face-to-face contact include rotatively interengaging axialelements at least one of which has an incline upstream of its tighteningmotion.

7. The liquidizing container called for in claim 5 including rotativelyinterengaging axial elements of a minimized axial dimension on saidsurfaces to locally pass each other under resilience remaining in saidsealing gasket under hand tightened assembly, of said ring member andclosure member.

8. In a liquidizer a container comprising a threadably engaged jar and aremovable bottom assembly,

said bottom assembly comprising,

bottom closure means for said jar,

resilient sealing means disposed between said bottom closure means andthe lower end of said jar,

ring means threadably engaging the lower end of said jar in a tighteningdirection and including an element engaging said closure means tocompress said sealing means in sealing relationship,

said element and the bottom closure having interface rotatably actuatedcam elements placing pressure upon said sealing means as the ring meansis tightened, one of said cams having the incline on it of saidthreadable relationship.

9. A liquidizer comprising,

a power unit having a housing member,

a container having a bottom assembly whose lower end is removablysupported on the housing member, and

a rotatable drive clutch member rotatably supported on the housingmember and extending above said lower end when the bottom assembly issupported thereon,

said bottom assembly including a. a ring member having a cavity thereinaccommodating said drive clutch member and an opening centrally of saidcavity, andb. a closure member comprising a cutter carrying shaftjournalled therein extending through said opening and a driven clutchmember on the lower end of the shaft axially reciprocable in said cavityto engage and disengage said drive clutch member,

resilient means between said ring and closure members urgingdisengagement of said clutch members, and

cutter protective means interengaging said ring and closure members tocounteract said resilient means and move said closure member axiallywith respect to said ring member and said housing member to engage saidclutch members.

10. The liquidizer defined 'in claim 9 in which said cutter protectivemeans is a liquidizing container having an opening at its bottom, asealing means between said container and closure member, and elementssurrounding said opening interlocking with said ring member for placingsaid sealing means under compression.

11. The liquidizer defined in claim 9 in which said ring member has awall defining external locating guides spaced with equal angularitytherearound and a spider defining openings angularly spaced at anglesequai to those of said guides,

by a manual switch having a housing with a motor supported beneath anupper wall thereof,

collar means on said wall defining a recess having a plurality ofangularly spaced lugs around it,

a motor shaft journalled in said housing and carrying a drive clutchelement above the top wall within the configuration defined by saidlugs,

a bottom assembly including,

a. a ring member having a cavity means therein accommodating said driveclutch member and flutes on its outer wall surface engaging said lugs incentering relation and securing means on its inner wall surface,

b. a closure member received within said inner wall surface journallinga cutter shaft carrying cutters on its upper end and a driven clutchmember on its lower end disposed reciprocably in said cavity coaxiallywith said drive clutch member to engage and disengage said drive clutchmember with relative movement of the closure member,

0. resilient means between said ring member and closure member urgingdisengagement of said clutch members, and

cutter enclosing means releasably interengaging said closure member andsecuring means to overcome said resilient means and move said closuremember axially with respect to said ring member and said housing memberto engage said clutch members. 13. The liquidizer called for in claim 12in which said ring member has openings in its bottom wall around saidcavity providing physical access therethrough to said clousre memberfrom below.

14. The liquidizer called for in claim 12 in which said closure meanshas a recess receiving said cavity means, said cavity means and recessdefining a depth above said upper wall that is at least equal to theoverall axial displacement of said clutch members when disengaged withthe ring member in place in said collar means.

15. The liquidizer called for in claim 12 in which said driven clutchmember has radially spaced elements exposed on its upper sides and thetop wall of said cavity has stop elements engaged by said spacedelements to lock said driven clutch against rotation during clutchdisengagement.

16. The liquidizer called for in claim 13 including a safety switchcarried by said upper wall and having a button located to engage saidclosure member through one of said openings during the time the clutchmembers are in engagement.

17. In a liquidizer container comprising threadably engaged jar andremovable bottom assembly,

means and said jar.

1. A liquidizing container having an opening at its base for receiving a rotatable liquefying cutter unit therethrough comprising, an open bottom jar member having a rim, a ring member receiving the bottom end of the jar in axial supported relationship around said rim, a closure member assembly having a radial peripheral flange thereon defining a marginal shoulder facing the lower end of the jar, a sealing gasket disposed between said shoulder and rim, said ring member axially receiving the closure member and having a lower wall portion engaging said closure member to compress said sealing gasket between said flange and said rim, resilient means between said closure member and ring member urging said closure member upwardly when said ring member and jar member are separated for cleaning purposes, and cutter means journalled in said closure means and including on its lower end a driven member supported for relative axial movement when assembling and separating said closure and ring members.
 2. The combination called for in claim 1 in which the ring member has a recess in the bottom thereof, and said driven member reciprocates in the recess on the bottom of the base member above the plane of its lower extremity and being held in working position by the jar assembled in place.
 3. The combination called for in claim 2 in which said recess comprises a cavity having a wall spaced a predetermined distance above the upper face of said driven member with said jar assembled on the base member, and said closure member has a cavity with a wall defining a space between the vertical walls receiving said resilient means in guided relation.
 4. The liquidizing container called for in claim 1 in which said ring member has a cavity accommodating said driven member at its spring retracted position of said axial movement, and locking means disposed between said driven member and said cavity wall interengaged by relative movement induced by said resilient means.
 5. The liquidizing container called for in claim 1 in which said ring member and closure member have surfaces in face-to-face contact for locating said driven member in its operative position, and said sealing gasket being resilient and being free to turn with the gasket and jar rim when tightening.
 6. The liquidizing container called for in claim 5 in which the surfaces in said face-to-face contact include rotatively interengaging axial elements at least one of which has an incline upstream of its tightening motion.
 7. The liquidizing container called for in claim 5 including rotatively interengaging axial elements of a minimized axial dimension on said surfaces to locally pass each other under resilience remaining in said sealing gasket under hand tightened assembly, of said ring member and closure member.
 8. In a liquidizer a container comprising a threadably engaged jar and a removable bottom assembly, said bottom assembly comprising, bottom closure means for said jar, resilient sealing means disposed between said bottom closure means and the lower end of said jar, ring means threadably engaging the lower end of said jar in a tightening direction and including an element engaging said closure means to compress said sealing means in sealing relationship, said element and the bottom closure having interface rotatably actuated cam elements placing pressure upon said sealing means as the ring means is tightened, one of said cams having the incline on it of said threadable relationship.
 9. A liquidizer comprising, a power unit having a housing member, a container having a bottom assembly whose lower end is removably supported on the housing member, and a rotatable drive clutch member rotatably supported on the housing member and extending above said lower end when the bottom assembly is supported thereon, said bottom assembly including a. a ring member having a cavity therein accommodating said drive clutch member and an opening centrally of said cavity, and b. a closure member comprising a cutter carrying shaft journalled therein extending through said opening and a driven clutch member on the lower end of the shaft axially reciprocable in said cavity to engage and disengage said drive clutch member, resilient means between said ring and closure members urging disengagement of said clutch members, and cutter protective means interengaging said ring and closure members to counteract said resilient means and move said closure member axially with respect to said ring member and said housing member to engage said clutch members.
 10. The liquidizer defined in claim 9 in which said cutter protective means is a liquidizing container having an opening at its bottom, a sealing means between said container and closure member, and elements surrounding said opening interlocking with said ring member for placing said sealing means under compression.
 11. The liquidizer defined in claim 9 in which said ring member has a wall defining external locating guides spaced with equal angularity therearound and a spider defining openings angularly spaced at angles equal to those of said guides, angularly locating means carried by said housing member having elements mating with said guides in a miscellany of various relative orientations, and safety switch means having a button so constructed and arranged with respect to said mating elements to extend through at least one of said openings and be engaged by said closure member in its lowermost position when said locating means and guides are in mating relation.
 12. A liquidizer comprising a power unit controlled by a manual switch having a housing with a motor supported beneath an upper wall thereof, collar means on said wall defining a recess having a plurality of angularly spaced lugs around it, a motor shaft journalled in said housing and carrying a drive clutch element above the top wall within the configuration defined by said lugs, a bottom assembly including, a. a ring member having a cavity means therein accommodating said drive clutch member and flutes on its outer wall surface engaging said lugs in centering relation and securing means on its inner wall surface, b. a closure member received within said inner wall surface journalling a cutter shaft carrying cutters on its upper end and a driven clutch member on its lower end disposed reciprocably in said cavity coaxially with said drive clutch member to engage and disengage said drive clutch member with relative movement of the closure member, c. resilient means between said ring member and closure member urging disengagement of said clutch members, and cutter enclosing means releasably interengaging said closure member and securing means to overcome said resilient means and move said closure member axially with respect to said ring member and said housing member to engage said clutch members.
 13. The liquidizer called for in claim 12 in which said ring member has openings in its bottom wall around said cavity providing physical access therethrough to said closure member from below.
 14. The liquidizer called for in claim 12 in which said closure means has a recess receiving said cavity means, said cavity means and recess defining a depth above said upper wall that is at least equal to the overall axial displacement of said clutch members when disengaged with the ring member in place in said collar means.
 15. The liquidizer called for in claim 12 in which said driven clutch member has radially spaced elements exposed on its upper sides and the top wall of said cavity has stop elements engaged by said spaced elements to lock said driven clutch against rotation during clutch disengagement.
 16. The liquidizer called for in claim 13 including a safety switch carried by said upper wall and having a button located to engage said closure member through one of said openings during the time the clutch members are in engagement.
 17. In a liquidizer container comprising threadably engaged jar and removable bottom assembly, said container having vertical ribs on its inner surface having a radial height at their lower ends greater than at their top ends and terminating a spaced distance above their lower end, bottom closure means for said container journalling cutter means in said jar immediately below said lower ends, resilient means engaging the lower end of said jar, and cam means between said resilient means and said bottom closure means to vary the compression on the resilient means progressively in steps during relative rotation between said bottom closure means and said jar. 